


i will never be dirt-free

by veel



Series: rory's angsty newsies oneshots [6]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Albert is a good boyfriend, Anxious Racetrack Higgins, Good for them, Hurt Racetrack Higgins, Hurt/Comfort, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I need a life, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, One Shot, THEYRE SO CUTE, and i dont go into detail, and i dont need anymore sprace angst, based on the song dirty night clowns, but he's okay in the end!!, honestly i should be banned from writing ralbert, how much i make race suffer, i cant believe it's still ralbert!!, i have other stories, i love them a lot, i make everthing depressing, i need to give the poor boy a break, i need to stop writing newsies shit, it has become a problem, it's honestly scaring me, it's only brief, its just so fucking fun to write, like i cant keep writing ralbert, not like it matters since this is a, oh yeah college au, ralbert, ralbert isnt even my favorite newsies ship, thanks to the one and only albert dasilva!!, these bitches gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:15:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24241918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veel/pseuds/veel
Summary: ive given up on capitalization
Relationships: Albert DaSilva/Racetrack Higgins
Series: rory's angsty newsies oneshots [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1744318
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	i will never be dirt-free

**Author's Note:**

> ive given up on capitalization

"why the 'ell did you run away? it took me an hour to track you down!"

"why do you like me?"

"because you're a good person."

"no. we both know that ain't true."

"because you're a nice person."

"al, tell me the truth."

race sat on a stone park bench, staring straight forward. it was a quaint little park, but race enjoyed it. it wasn't really a park for children, just one to admire wildlife. behind the bench, there was a large wood. there was a path to get through the wood, but you could also just explore.

in front of the bench was a pond. it wasn't quite large enough to be considered a lake, but it was big. there were rocks at one side of the pond where ducks and geese seemed to hang out. no one disturbed the pond, or the large cherry blossom tree near it. no one really knew why there was a cherry blossom tree in the middle of a new york park, but people assumed it was planted years before.

albert sat next to race, admiring his features. both of the boys were fairly tall, but race was lankier. albert was stocky and muscular, with a nest of wild red hair that was hidden by his backwards baseball cap. his left leg hung over the bench, while his right leg was pulled closer to himself.

race sat cross-legged, effectively staining his grey sweatpants with the mud from his shoes. his hands were shoved into the pockets of his lavender hoodie, tempted to pull out a cigarette. he didn't like to smoke, but it helped him calm down. he had had a major problem with smoking in high school and had only just broken that habit.

"race, we don't got time for this. i got a class in half an hour, an' you have one in twenty minutes. can we please jus' wrap this up an' go 'ome?" race scoffed and shook his head. albert frowned and found himself pulling on race's sleeve. race huffed and looked over at the redhead, his eyes filled with confusion and anger.

"i know you don't think this is important, but it is to me." albert let go of race's sleeve, and race finally gave in and pulled out his cigarette pack. he offered one to albert, who refused, before lighting his own. he took a deep drag before blowing the smoke out in albert's face. albert coughed and glared at his boyfriend.

"the 'ell was 'at for?"

"good measure." race repeated his previous action twice before albert grabbed race's wrist. race stared directly at albert threateningly. albert forcefully took the cigarette away and threw it on the ground before stomping on it. race sighed and thought about lighting another one. the look in albert's eyes made him decide against it. "i ain't leavin' 'til you answer me."

"i'll answer you after you answer my question," albert responded instead. race sighed. he looked away from albert and back at the pond. a duck was floating on the water peacefully. race let himself smile softly at it while thinking about his answer. truth be told, race was struggling to think of an answer that didn't sound ridiculous. so, race had no other option than to answer truthfully.

"i got scared," race admitted, "that if i allowed myself to say it back, i'd get too attached, an' then it'd end up like my last relationship. i jus' don't wanna get 'urt again, and i didn't mean to take it out on you." race looked down at the grass, abashed. "'m sorry." albert placed a gentle hand on race's shoulder. race slowly turned to look at albert.

"it's okay. if you ain't ready to say it back, i respect your decision." albert offered a small smile. "i jus' wanted you to know that you're safe now." race nodded carefully. it wasn't that race didn't trust albert, - they had been friends for years - it was race trying to protect himself. the last person he allowed himself to get close to hurt him in a way he wasn't sure he could recover from.

"now you gotta answer my question, and answer truthfully," race said. albert nodded. it was his turn to look out at the pond in front of them. it seemed there were two ducks. one of them was closer to the rocks, hesitant to go into the water. the second one was in the middle, peacefully quacking.

"i like your personality. you're really funny and thoughtful," albert paused, too afraid to look at race, "you're creative and always have ideas for every occasion." albert smiled fondly. "you don't always know what to say, and i admire that because not everyone is prepared for everything. lord knows i'm not." he finally turned to race, who had his mischevious gleam in his eyes. albert took race's left hand and held it tightly. "you may not always be the most pleasant person, but i," albert bit his lip, hoping the situation wouldn't unfold like it did earlier that day, "i love you, race. fuck, i love you a lot." race squeezed albert's hand gently. he grinned like an idiot before laughing.

"you know what, al? i like you a whole bunch. i don't know if i'm ready to use that word yet, but i can't imagine how i would be if it weren't for you." race leaned in closer, and they rested their foreheads against each other. race grabbed albert's other hand, and the two twisted around to be facing each other.

albert pulled race closer, finally embracing him. race buried his head in albert's shoulder, the rough fabric of the t-shirt rubbing against his cheek. albert's right hand found its way to race's hair. he played with the blond boy's curls affectionately, his other arm snaking across race's waist to hold him closer.

"tony, we gotta go now. you got class in ten minutes." albert released racetrack and move backward. race sighed and nodded. before standing up, race glanced at the ducks. they were in the middle of the pond together briefly before flying up and away. race smiled to himself and stood up. albert grabbed his hand. "y'know, 'm sorry for freakin' you out earlier."

"oh, no, seriously, it's alri-"

"so i was hopin' i could make it up to you."

"what did you 'ave in mind?"

"i got a new set of bedsheets recently."

"oh my god."

"is that a yes or..?"

"i dunno, you remember what happened to the last ones..."

"these ones are supposed to be 'extra durable', race. you can 'elp me test 'em out!"

"sounds great, just let me cancel my plans with your dad first."

"you're the worst."

"but you love me."

"unfortunately."

**Author's Note:**

> it may be short but not gonna lie i love it a lot
> 
> it's so fucking hard not to write a ralbert moulin rouge au im barely managing to stop myself


End file.
